Trump Fully Endorses Astronauts on Mars in Inaugural Address

Trump Fully Endorses Astronauts on Mars in Inaugural Address

In his inaugural address today, President Donald Trump fully endorsed the goal of putting American astronauts on Mars. His interest in human Mars exploration is not new and he did not mention a timetable or whether the Moon will be a steppingstone, but incorporating it in his remarks today suggests it may have a high priority during the next four years.

Trump took the oath of office inside the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol just after noon ET, avoiding the bitter cold weather outside, starting his second term as President.

Trump signed seven Space Policy Directives during his first term (2017-2021). The very first, Space Policy Directive 1 (SPD-1) in December 2017, restored the Moon to NASA’s plan to expand human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. President Obama (2009-2017) had eschewed the Moon in favor of focusing entirely on getting humans to orbit (not land on) Mars by the 2030s, adding he expected them to land there within his lifetime.

NASA has been embarked upon a Moon-to-Mars program ever since SPD-1, with Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence setting 2024 as a deadline for astronauts to once again set foot on the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program. That date now has slipped to 2027.

But although he restored the Moon to the pathway to Mars, 18 months later when Artemis began in earnest he criticized NASA for doing just that.

Now Trump’s close relationship with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk over the past several months is sparking questions about whether the Moon will remain part of the plan. Musk’s passion is making humanity a multi-planet species by sending millions of people to live on Mars. Musk campaigned with Trump, contributed an estimated $250 million to that campaign, and has been seen at Trump’s side since the election, including at the inaugural ceremony today.

In a January 2 post on X, Musk called the Moon “a distraction,” although it was in the context of whether to use lunar oxygen as part of the propellant for getting to Mars.

Today, towards the end of his 30-minute address Trump proclaimed that U.S. astronauts will plant the American flag on Mars.

“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.” — President Donald Trump

Standing near Trump’s youngest son, Barron, Musk cheered the news.

Sending humans to Mars is vastly more difficult than to the Moon, starting with the duration of the trip — 6 months one-way instead of three days.  Not only is the risk to astronauts much higher, but the cost. Musk asserts that he will send five uncrewed Starships to Mars in 2026 and, if they are successful, the first crews in 2028, but Musk is well known for his overly optimistic timelines.  If astronaut safety is a priority, such trips are not likely at least until the 2030s as Obama proposed.

Left unanswered is whether Trump still considers the Moon on the pathway to Mars or plans to adopt Obama’s strategy of skipping it.

Obama’s proposal encountered stiff resistance in Congress not because of opposition to setting Mars as a long-term goal, but because the Moon is considered by many in the space community as a necessary proving ground. Many members support the idea of sending people to Mars, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), chair of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee that oversees NASA.

But not necessarily without first learning how to support humans living on another planetary body that’s much closer to home in case anything goes awry.  Cruz’s House counterpart and fellow Texan, Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, told Politico that bypassing the Moon “would be a mistake” and former NASA astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) pointed out that a lot of “time, effort and money” has been put into the existing Artemis program and “I think we should allow NASA to complete that mission.”

Scott Pace, Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, played a key role in restoring the Moon to the nation’s human space exploration plans during Trump’s first term as Executive Secretary of the National Space Council. He tells SpacePolicyOnline.com today that he still considers the Moon a “necessary part of developing the capabilities needed for Mars” and emphasizes that it doesn’t need to be an either/or decision.

The real question is *how* to go to Mars in a way that advances U.S. interests. What needs attention from the new Administration is how to manage the ISS transition to private platforms, how to update the Artemis architecture to accelerate progress and ensure it’s sustainable, and reshape NASA for a very different environment.

The Moon is a necessary part of developing the capabilities needed for Mars – it does not need to be either/or choice, as the Obama Administration did with its “Journey to Mars” concept. I hope we’ve learned from past experiences that enduring U.S. leadership in space requires commercial and international partners as well as bipartisan support. — Scott Pace

Finding the money to send people to the Moon, Mars, or both when debt reduction is a key Republican priority will be a challenge, however.

This article has been updated.

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